Weekend Recap: Championship-Level Racing Dots The Nation

EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ll continue to update this post throughout the weekend.

October means championship-level racing.

We saw that in spades this weekend across the nation.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | USTFCCCA Scoreboard

NCAA Division II programs fought for conference titles, while NAIA programs prepped for the postseason with high-octane invitationals.

Find out which meets stood out the most to us from this weekend.

RMAC Cross Country Championships

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Men’s 8k

Colo. School of Mines left no doubt as to its No. 1 ranking in NCAA DII.

The Orediggers steamrolled the stacked field on Saturday, as it put all five scoring athletes in the top-10 for a 32-point score and their fifth consecutive conference title. Duncan Fuehne, Loic Scomparin and Paul Knight led the charge for Colo. School of Mines in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively.

No. 4 Adams State finished runner-up with 59 points, but you could throw out the form chart after the Grizzlies. No. 7 Western Colorado took third with 69 points, followed by No. 30 Fort Lewis with 123 points and No. 23 UC-Colorado Springs with 154 points. No. 5 Colorado Christian was tenth.

Andrew Amor of New Mexico Highlands won the individual title in 23:58.4.

Women’s 6k

Adams State had won 12 of the past 13 conference titles entering Saturday.

The Grizzlies showed why as they made it 13 of the past 14 with a resounding win over a horde of ranked teams. Brianna Robles led Adams State with top individual honors in 20:34.1 – her second individual title in the past three years – and four teammates followed in the top-12. The Grizzlies amassed just 32 points with their 1-3-6-8-12 finish.

No. 3 Colo. School of Mines finished runner-up with 56 points, followed by 2020 champion No. 4 Western Colorado with 94 points. No. 7 CSU Pueblo was fourth with 115 points and No. 6 UC-Colorado Springs rounded out the top-5 with 124 points.

NAIA Great Lakes Challenge

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A magnet for many top-ranked NAIA programs since 2008, this meet didn’t disappoint as 21 ranked programs – 11 women, 10 men – gathered at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Men’s Maroon 8k

NAIA No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan was dominant in winning for a second-straight year. The Wildcats – led by third-place finisher Landon Wakeman – had four finishers in the top-8 and all five scorers in the top-20 to total 40 points as their 1-5 runners were within 28.4 seconds of each other.

No. 7 Cumberlands (Ky.) was runner-up with 105 points, followed by No. 14 Grace (Ind.) (140), No. 13 Goshen (Ind.) (144) and No. 19 St. Francis (Ill.) (240) as 10 ranked squads highlighted a loaded field.

Jackson Wilson of Rocky Mountain (Mont.) won the individual race in 24:37.2, 8.9 seconds ahead of Serhiy Shevchenro of Cumberlands (Ky.).

Women’s Maroon 5k

The 11 ranked programs in the field finished nowhere close to their pre-race rankings  as No. 15 St. Francis (Ill.) won for the first time since 2021. The Fighting Saints were the only squad with three – much less four – runners in the top-20 as all five crossed the finish line among the top-25 in scoring 76 points. Olivia Bukowski led St. Francis with a sixth-place finish.

 Runner-up honors went to No.25 Goshen (Ind.) with 112 points, followed by No. 19 Grace (Ind.) (166), No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan (175) and No. 13 Carroll (Mont.) (203).

Alina Boshchuk of Cumberlands (Ky.) captured the individual battle in 18:07.4, 6.7 seconds ahead of Lisa Voyles of Indiana Tech.

Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic

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A “classic” usually needs some history to live up to that description, but this first-year meet at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Nebraska, seems well on its way to that moniker. There were 15 ranked teams in attendance, 10 of which were in the top-10.

Men’s 8k

No. 9 College of Idaho out-performed three higher-ranked squads and used a strong finish to claim the team title with 56 points, 11 ahead of No. 4 Saint Mary (Kan.) (67). Completing the top-5 were No. 6 Dordt (Iowa) with 79 points, followed by No. 23 Taylor (Ind.) (104) and host No. 25 Doane (Neb.) (172).

The Coyotes were led by individual runner-up Daniel Butler as three teammates joined him in the top-11. Idaho moved up throughout the race – they were 36 points down at 3k and didn’t take the lead until 7k; they were just five points up at that split before their final 11-point differential.

The Spires were led by individual winner Emad Bashir-Mohammed, who raced to a 16-second victory over Butler in 24:07.0.

Women’s 6k

The next NAIA women’s rankings should have a different look at the top as six top-8 teams – three in the top-4 – waged an interesting contest. No. 3 College of Idaho – led by individual winner Ellyse Tingelstad – was the victor with 44 points with four runners in the top-10. The Coyotes led at all three mid-race split-points, increasing their lead along the way.

No. 4 Saint Mary (Kan.) was closest with 57 points with No. 1 Taylor (Ind.) taking third with 75 points. Next came No. 8 Concordia (Neb.) (123), No. 7 Southern Oregon (127) and No. 6 Dordt (Iowa) (138).

Tinglestad covered the tract in 20:52.0, 6.7 seconds ahead of Reagan Hiebert of Saint Mary.

Other Meets of Note

NAIA Appalachian Challenge

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Milligan swept the proceedings at Sequoyah Park in Athens, Tennessee. The Buffs’ second-ranked women ran roughshod over the competition, while the third-ranked men held off a strong challenge from No. 10 Montreat. Caitlin Dominy led a 1-2-3 sweep for Milligan in the women’s race, as they put their entire scoring lineup in the top-10 and won by 50 points. Bryn Woodall captured the men’s individual title and was one of four Buffs in the top-10, as they topped the Cavaliers, 42-53.